Back in the mid-2000s, Formula 1 was having a big impact on the world of performance cars, and the result was that the folks over at Maranello, Sant’Agata, and Stuttgart were all chasing lightning-fast shifts and automated manuals. This was also the era when the analog stick began to fade into obscurity, at least in the top-end performance car segment.
And yet, against all odds, Lamborghini quietly built a handful of them, a V12 open-top monster with a gated six-speed manual. The car in question: Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 Roadster, manual. Given how F1-inspired gearboxes were all the rage back then, Lamborghini didn’t market the three-pedal version as aggressively. The demand simply wasn’t there, and as a result, the factory didn’t build many. Today, though, fewer than ten are believed to exist, and when it comes to demand, it’s the other way round.
The Last of the Analog Raging Bulls: The Gated Unicorn
But to understand why this car matters, we need to rewind to the early 2000s. The original Lamborghini Murciélago launched back in ‘01 as the first Lamboi developed under Audi’s direction. Designed by Luc Donckerwolke with a, dare I say, softer design compared to Gandini’s Diablo, it was still wild 6.2-liter V12, carbon-heavy bones, scissor doors, but now with a hint of some German sensibilities underneath.
The LP640 (2007-2010) that followed turned up the wick with sharper styling, bigger brakes, and a massive, singular center-mounted exhaust. The V12 was now uprated to 6.5 liters, pushing 640 horsepower and 487 pound-feet of torque. Zero to 60? 3.3 seconds with a top speed rated at 211 mph. But crucially, while the world was moving towards dual-clutch paddles and computer-enhanced driving, Lamborghini quietly continued to offer a traditional gated manual transmission sending power to all four corners.
While most LP640s came equipped with the E-Gear transmission, just over 30 LP640s left the factory with a manual that made it stateside. Of those, only a small handful (we’re talking anywhere between six and nine) were Roadsters. Lamborghini never published official figures, but ask any marque historian or collector, and they’ll tell you: it’s one of the rarest Raging Bulls ever built.
Now it is a common misconception that the Roadster was just a Murciélago LP640 without the roof. However, that is from the truth as it features a redesigned engine cover unique to the soft-top, additional structural reinforcements, and a comically fragile soft top that no one ever used. TopGear fans among you will fondly recall Richard Hammond’s review of a yellow Murciélago Roadster shot in Spain (yes, the same one where he ran alongside the Bulls in Pamplona), which was in fact a manual.
Regardless, that film revealed just how much of an afterthought the roof was, but that’s not the point. The main appeal of the manual Murci Roadster is rarity, and if the numbers are indeed true, this specification by itself makes it rarer than a McLaren F1, which by the way is $20 million car today.
A Collector-Grade Lambo: But there’s a Catch
When this car was new, it was misunderstood. The world was after quicker shifts and higher tech. But now, the pendulum has swung, and for a select few from the generation that grew up with these cars as bedroom-wall heroes and are in a position to afford a Murci, that analog engagement that’s becoming an obsolete concept is now more desirable than ever.
But tread carefully, because not all gated Murciélagos are created equal. Some cars have been converted to gated manuals, while others have been modified or have racked up serious miles. The real unicorns are factory-built, unmolested, and as close to showroom condition as possible. Those are the ones that are quietly moving into true blue-chip investments.
Manual exotics are now hot, and nowhere is that shift more dramatic than with the LP640. Which is why prices for the manual Murciélago LP640 (Roadster or not) are on the upswing. While prices for the standard car hover either side of the $500k mark, a clean, low-mileage, untouched example of the more desirable manual LP640 is in line with SV models (between $1.4m-$1.6m). Last year, a 2008 Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 Roadster sold on RM Sotheby’s for $1.352 million. For a comprehensive overview of the Lamborghini Murciélago model range, watch this feature from Curated, with experts Ed Bolian and John Hooper.
Images Source: Lamborghini